Senior Augusta
by Neptune Butterfly
Summary: AU: Has a little bit of everything! General's too blah. Vash, Wolfwood, Meryl, and Milly start their senior year in high school. Little did they know, it was one year that will dramatically change their lives. VM, WM, and many other pairings.
1. History Blast!

A/N: Yes, another high school fic. Came out later than I wanted, but better late then never! Thanks to a buddy of mine who proofread this for me, I have finally decided to get this story rolling. This is gonna have a little of everything in it. General is just too blah a word. I dedicate this to all you high school students out there and especially my kiddy sister Warrior of Destiny. Poor thing has been to busy to work on her own fic, so I went ahead and procrastinated to come up with this! Please enjoy! -NB-

Disclaimer: This is the ONLY time I will say this, so PAY ATTENTION!!! Own Trigun, I do not. References to actual songs, stories, people, places, and events are nothing more then that, references. Added characters are of my own doing, and therefore, belong to me.

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Senior Augusta

By: Neptune Butterfly

Prologue: History Blast!

Friday, September 10, 2004, 10:47a.m.

Boring...

There's nothing else to describe it. Normally, history would evoke mild interest from her with slight variations depending on who's teaching. In this particular case however, interest had left the building with Elvis. There's just no way in this massive Universe she was gonna make it through an hour a day, five days a week, two hundred sixty-something days to the end of the school year with this drone machine. Wait a minute, it's two hundred forty-something days. It's been three weeks since school started. But that provided little comfort.

Meryl's stomach growled in anticipation. Only three minutes to go until the bell rang. Good thing she had first lunch this year. She felt sorry for those who will have to wait another hour and a half to eat.

For a private school, Augusta High had a huge student population, probably because it was less expensive and easier to get into than others were. It was also run by the local convent, which also runs an orphanage. Many of its inhabitants either taught or attended the Augusta private schools.

And that's the reasoning behind the four lunch periods. The rest of fourth period was spent in class or 'study hall.' Having thirty minutes of study hall right after lunch meant that she could take her time getting to class for the last hour of the period.

'Lord save me. Only two more minutes to go,' Meryl thought using one of Wolfwood's lines. Her head was propped up on her left hand and arm while she continued to stare off into space. The other hand played with the short blue skirt of her Augusta Archangels cheerleader uniform. She never understood the point of wearing the uniform every Friday other than providing the boys a better view. As if the regular school uniforms weren't enough.

One minute. Just one more minute. Then she'd be free to enjoy the rest of the day. Any class would be better than this one. Meryl's lavender eyes concentrated on the clock above the chalkboard, strategically placed to taunt students.

Thirty seconds. Sounds of backpacks being unzipped filled the room while the teacher rambled on about dates, apparently oblivious to the recent activity in the room. Meryl herself opened her bag and quickly dumped everything into it. Fifteen seconds...

She glanced out one of the windows to her right. It was a beautiful day. No clouds, just sky. Ten seconds...

Meryl had a clear shot of the door. She could reserve a bench for her and Milly before they're all taken. Good thing they always brought their lunches. Five seconds...

Her legs were in position to eject her out of her seat. Those specially made cheerleader shoes were good for one thing: to jump. Four, three, two, one...

KABOOOOM!!!

Everyone fell to the floor just as the bell rang following the explosion. Murmurs of confusion, like 'What was that?!' and 'What's going on?!' grew louder as the entire class picked themselves up and slowly made their way to the windows that lined one side of the room.

Meryl searched the portion of campus that was visible from her third story classroom. Someone spotted smoke and pointed it out to the rest of the class. It was the ground floor of the science wing.

"Oh no," she mumbled in painful recognition to herself. Her face matched her voice. "Not again..."

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NB: Okay, time to review. Remember, the frequency of updates will be determined by you. Same goes with my other fic Stray Cat Strut. Please go check it out! I need encouragement to keep my juices flowing. -NB-


	2. Manic Friday

A/N: Hey there! Thanks for the reviews! I would've gotten this out sooner, but I've been running low on energy here. Darn ear medication makes me sleepy .Zzzzz. I hope to go a little faster 'cause I don't want to get too far behind. This story runs on an actual timeline and makes references to real-time events.

Reviewer Responses!

hope-is-4ever: Hehe, I bet you can. Thanks for showing interest. I hope the length of this chapter makes up for the slight lateness, although most of them with be this long anyway O.o (Jeez, I must be out of my mind!!!)

Fool of a Rohirrim: Yay! O I have an awesome fic! (Muahahaha, caught another sucker's attention) Hmmm, Vash, Milly, Vash, Milly... I guess you'll just have to read to find out! It should be pretty easy.

SapphireWhiteTigress: To be honest, I didn't see that coming either, but then I thought about a good friend of mine from high school. She didn't have a temper like Meryl, but she was very independent and very smart (AND she played the flute in marching band like me!). Plus, it was something I never saw anyone else do. Glad you like this story so far! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

Neko-Yuff16: WOW!!! Thanks for all the smiles!!! May all the Kuronekos you find give you good luck!!! The chapters are gonna get pretty long, so BRACE YOURSELF!!! To find out who cause the explosion, please continue...

Extra note: I changed the time in the prologue from 10:57 to 10:47. I forgot about the ten minutes between classes.

Now, go read, so I can have more to respond to! -NB-

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Senior Augusta

By: Neptune Butterfly

Chapter 1: Manic Friday

Same day, 11:15a.m.

All the benches were taken thanks to the disturbance. The lab that spontaneously combusted was on the way to the cafeteria and the entrance into the courtyard, so by the time Meryl made it to the right hallway it was clogged with curious spectators. Many of them were supposed to be on the other side of campus by then. Officer Maryanne Cliff, a resident policewoman of the school, had a tough time getting students on their way. It took fifteen minutes out of her lunchtime, not to mention the ten extra minutes that came between classes.

Milly reached the cafeteria before she did, since her third period class was on the second floor where most of the speech, theatre, and math classes were. It gave her time to find Wolfwood before Meryl finally made it through the mob.

"Hey Meryl!!" The tall brunette waved madly to her across the second largest building in the school, packed as usual.

Thankfully, the junior high and grade school kids were on a separate campus. This place was a mad house with everybody excitedly talking about the so-called 'bombing' of the chemistry lab. As Meryl made her way through the maze of tables and bodies, she heard snippets of conversation about possible terrorists wanting to blow up Augusta.

None of it was true of course. They knew perfectly well who it was. "Don't they get enough of that crap from the news? It isn't funny at all!"

"What isn't?" Asked Milly. She met her friend halfway just as Meryl finished her statement.

"That the idiots in here are suggesting that the explosion was the work of terrorists!" She continued as they winded their way to the table where a scruffy looking guy sat.

"Well, that's not true. The principal would've had us evacuated if it were. The explosion wasn't even that big. It was just loud."

"You'd think he'd give it a rest now with everything that's been goin' on." Meryl set her bag down on the Milly-chosen table in front of a vacant seat. "I swear, trouble follows him wherever he goes!!"

"It sure does! Ya know, they may not be far from the truth when they say it was a terrorist that blew up the lab," said Milly in a thinking pose looking up towards the ceiling. "What do you think Mr. Wolfwood?" She lowered her view to the scruffy dark-haired guy sitting to her right.

He was laid back, arms crossed over the front of his deep blue school jacket. His same-colored tie hung loosely around his neck and a white shirt underneath had the first couple of buttons undone. Black pants, socks, and shoes completed the outfit. Milly's uniform was the same except for the blue-plaid skirt that went down to her knees.

Wolfwood chuckled. "They're right. Needle Noggin's been a terrorist since pre-school!!"

"Hey! I though I was Vash the Stampede, the Devil's Helper, the Humanoid Typhoon! Destroying all in my path! Since when have I become a terrorist?!"

They knew that voice. But that didn't mean they weren't surprised.

Meryl whipped around to face the tall gangly blonde she knew was behind her. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Vash put a hand behind his head and laughed nervously, "Well, you know, after the first 100 times, it was kinda pointless to keep me in the office or put me in detention, so they just let me change clothes. Good thing I brought something to change into."

His friends noted his jeans and the faded red T-shirt over a white long-sleeve. He never seemed to wear anything that exposed his arms and legs, even during band practice.

"Now why does that not surprise me?" Wolfwood replied in an all-knowing voice.

The blonde sat down on the other side of the table, ignoring his friend's remark. The girls took their seats and opened their lunches.

Neither guy moved as the girl beside him began to eat. Milly raised her peanut butter and jelly sandwich to her mouth but stopped short biting it when she noticed the boys had nothing to eat. "Don't you have anything to eat Mr. Wolfwood? Mr. Vash?"

Vash shifted in his chair. "Ummm, I sorta blew my lunch up."

Meryl was drinking from a juice pouch when she stabbed herself in the gums. "OW! What did you bring? Nitro glycerin?!"

"Nooooo, the sack just happened to be on the table I was working on!!"

The short girl rolled her eyes at his carelessness and went back to her juice pouch.

Milly put on an amused smile and turned to Wolfwood. "What about you? What happened to your lunch?"

He went all dramatic. "Alas, I forgot it at home. I'd get something from the lunch line, but I'm poorer than dirt. Don't worry about me Big Girl. With God's help, I'll survive the next four and a half hours in this torture prison we call school--"

"--Here you go!" The brunette placed a green apple in one of his outstretched hands in mid-pose.

Wolfwood looked at it. "Uhhh... you sure you want me to have it?"

"Of course! My big, big sister always says you shouldn't skip meals. It's unhealthy!" She shook her finger at him.

"Really?! Thanks Angel!!" He took a huge bite out of the apple. "Mmmm, that's tasty!" Milly gave him a 'you're welcome' smile.

Vash was watching them from the other side with amusement when a bag of Doritos chips decided to block his view. "Huh?"

"Milly's right. You shouldn't skip meals."

He followed the arm to Meryl who was finishing up her sandwich acting like it wasn't a big deal. Vash accepted it gratefully. "Thanks. You didn't have to."

She could tell he was sincere still but refused eye contact. It was a bit more serious than his normal tone.

Meryl lowered her arm, and he took a closer look at the bag. "OH WOW! THEY HAVE EXTRA CHEESE!" Amazing how he can go from a semi-gentleman to a psychotic chip lover in half a second. "Man, if I had a salmon sandwich along with a Pepsi and a couple of donuts, I would be in heaven!!!"

Wolfwood thought that he was being an idiot. "Jeez, Needle Noggin, they're only chips! Don't make a scene!" Some of the other students were curiously looking at them.

Vash ignored him again and chowed down on the bag. The short girl made a face at the mess he was making. If only he could keep himself under control for longer periods of time. He wasn't half bad as a person. In fact, his ideas of how people should treat each other along with his general goofiness gave him an attractive personality. His biggest flaw was chasing girls, many of whom aren't interest in his personality one bit.

At least he was nowhere near as bad as Michael Valle. He'd been tailing Meryl since their freshman year and became even more persistent when he found out that she made the varsity cheerleading squad. Meryl never enjoyed band camp, not just because of the heat, but because of Michael and his stupid saxophone. She'd whack him with her marching flute, but his perverted head wasn't worth the expense of replacing it, even if it was a crappy instrument.

A girl with her brown hair up in a ponytail, purple eyes, and wearing the same outfit as Meryl came up to their table. "Hey Meryl!"

"Oh, hey Stefany. What's up?" The short girl gathered up her trash and put it in her sack. She also grabbed the Doritos bag from Vash, who was licking the crumbs.

He noticed Stefany after having the remains of his lunch confiscated. "HEY!! How's it goin' beautiful?!" The blonde flashed a winning smile at her.

Meryl groaned. "Give it up Vash. She's already got a boyfriend."

"WHAT?!" He quickly leaned over the empty table space in front of Meryl to clasp his hands over Stephany's looking up at her. "No way!! What happened between us!! I thought we had something!!" Wolfwood and Milly just stared.

The cheerleader yanked her hands away after a stunned second and put them on her hips. "Uh, first of all, there never has been anything between US! Second of all, I wasn't even talking to you in the first place!"

"So what is it you want?" Meryl asked as she yanked the sulking Vash back into his chair.

"We're about to start the cheer in a minute. We'll be doing it on that table over there." Stefany pointed at a table in the middle of the cafeteria.

Oh yeah, she forgot. It was a tradition to it every Friday during football season. "Alright. I'll be there in just a sec."

"Okay. I'll tell the others." Stefany took off in the direction of the chosen cheer table.

Meryl got up to throw her trash away. "Well, I guess I'll see you guys in theatre cla-VASH!!! DAMMIT!!! WOULD YOU CUT THAT OUT!!!

The blonde was attempting a death grip on her to keep her from leaving. It earned him a nasty bump on his head and under his chin from being smashed against the table. "OWIE! You gonna abandon me too?" Vash whimpered.

Meryl just rolled her eyes and went to look for a trash can.

"Damn Vash, do you always have to drive her up the wall? I don't know about you but I don't enjoy watching her turn into a screaming banshee!" Wolfwood watched his friend rub his head wincing in pain, then added with an evil smile, "But then watching you get beaten up is quite entertaining!"

Vash gave him a hurt look.

"You really should quite pushing Meryl's bottles so much Mr. Vash."

"Uuuuuh, don't you mean buttons?" Corrected Wolfwood. He really liked Milly, but sometimes she was hard to make sense of.

"Of course I did!" Replied Milly.

All he could do was shake his head. 'It's no use.'

"Hey look! They're starting!" Milly pointed to a group of cheerleaders standing above the crowd.

The entire cafeteria quieted down and focused their attention on them. Some of the boys whistled and whooped. Meryl did her best to ignore the catcalls. Some of the other girls may like it, but she always thought it was a little embarrassing.

"Ready?" Stefany asked the girls. They nodded and formed a circle facing outward. In unison they began:

Cheerleaders: "ARE WE GONNA LET THEM AVENGERS WIN THE FIGHT?!!!"

Students: "HEEEEEEEEELL NO!!!"

Cheerleaders: "THEN LET THEM HEAR YA SPELL IT RIGHT!!!"

Everybody: "A--R--C-H-A!!!" All stomp, clap, or bang tables (BANG!--BANG!--BANG!-BANG!-BANG!)

"N--G--E-L-S!!!" (BANG!-BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!--BANG!-BANG!)

A R C A!!! (BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!)

N G L S!!! (BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!)

ARCHANGELS!!!

The room roared and utensils clattered on vibrating tables. All the cheerleaders jumped off just as the bell rang signaling the end of first lunch.

-----

Vash and Wolfwood said their goodbyes to Milly as they fought their way to the hall that would lead them to their English class on the fourth floor.

As they walked along the corridor, a tall light blonde with icy blue eyes came strutting their way as if he owned the world. His companion was almost as tall with lanky dark-bluish hair stylishly cut to hang over one of his yellowish green eyes giving him a sinister look. He fell a little behind the blonde as if he felt unworthy to walk alongside. Their school uniforms were neat and orderly like their owners. Both held their bags in a business-like fashion.

Wolfwood wanted to ignore them, but Vash put on a grin and waved. "Hey Knives!"

Knives had his hand on the door handle ready to exit to the courtyard when he heard his name. He turned his head toward his brother with no distinct expression on his face. After a second of acknowledging his twin's presence, he spoke to his companion who was also looking at Vash. "Let's go." And they were out the door.

Vash's arm fell to his side, his grin gone replaced with a sad longing look. Wolfwood was about to give the finger to the 'odd couple' when his friend grabbed it and yanked him towards the stairs. "C'mon, we're gonna be late!"

"Ouch! Hey, stop that!" Wolfwood pulled his finger out of Vash's grasp. "I just don't understand you. Why do you let them brush you off like that?! All you're doing is feeding his already enormous ego."

He watched the blonde for a response but none came. Vash just kept walking quietly focused on the entrance to the stairwell.

"Are you even listening to me?!" The irritated Wolfwood took hold of his arm before he went up the near-empty stairs. "Vash?!"

He stared at the steps to the next floor. A long pause. "Wolfwood?"

"What?"

"Do you remember what chapter we were supposed to read?" Vash turned his head to his friend with a nervous smile on his face. "I somehow lost my reading list."

He changed the subject. Wolfwood hated it when he did that and growled in irritation knocking him up the side of the head.

"GYAH!"

"YOU IDIOT! Come on, let's go!" With that he dashed up the stairs.

"You didn't have to hit me!" Vash whined. He knew Wolfwood didn't like it, but he didn't feel like talking about Knives right now. It has always been a sensitive subject.

_----- 3:05p.m._

Seventh period.

At last, the school day was almost over, and everyone was anxious to go home for the weekend. Vash walked into his theatre class and saw that Wolfwood, Meryl, and Milly were already at their seats near the windows. All the desks were arranged in groups of six, since all the students were put in groups of that many. The blonde crossed the classroom over to his group, which, of course, included the girls and his best friend.

Meryl practiced fingering notes on her pencil while Milly was reading the fifth Harry Potter book. Wolfwood was laid back with his feet on Vash's seat.

"Exactly how many times are you gonna read those books?" Wolfwood asked the brunette. "Once or twice would have been enough." But Milly was so into it she didn't hear his question

Meryl looked up from here music. "Why do you care? You read all of the Lord of the Rings books AND The Hobbit at LEAST ten times!"

"Yeah, but--"

"--Hey Wolfwood, would you mind removing your feet?"

He looked over to the spiky blonde and smirked. "Only if you do me a favor."

Vash narrowed his eyes at him. "Like what?"

"Deck that jerk Legato for me after school. He tried to pull a nasty trick on us while we were leaving French class." Wolfwood was referring to him and Milly. Legato and Knives had French in the same room after them.

"Wolfwood, you know that I would never do that."

"Then at least deck Knives! I bet he was in on it!"

Vash crossed his arms and sighed. "Sorry, no can do."

His best friend glared at him for a moment then said, "Okay, then no seat."

"HEY!! You can't do that!!"

"Ooooh yes I can Needle Noggin!!"

"Would you stop calling me that?!!!"

"Why? It suits you perfectly!!"

Meryl had enough of this. She whipped up her bag from the side of her desk and held it over her head threateningly. "YOU TWO CUT IT OUT!!!"

The boys stopped their bickering. Milly looked up from her book, and everyone else in the room was now staring at them.

"Wolfwood, give Vash his seat, or I SWEAR I'll KNOCK YOUR BLOCK OFF!!!

Wolfwood's eyes went wide and did as he was told.

"Now Vash, sit your BUTT down before I FLATTEN your SPIKY HEAD!!!"

With a nervous smile, Vash plopped down in his desk.

A long dark-haired girl came jogging through the door and up to their group of desks right before the bell rang. None of them had noticed that she was running later than usual during their fight.

"Oh hey Dominique!" Milly greeted her. She noticed a patch over the girl's eye and gasped. "What happened to your eye?!"

Meryl noticed the blood seeping through the patch. "Oh my god! How on earth did you do that?!"

Dominique panted from having to running up the stairs and took her time getting herself situated while the whole group kept their eyes on her. "I'm ok. I-it was just a-an accident. I j-just came from t-the nurse's of-fice. That's why I-I was late."

That didn't satisfy the shorthaired girl. "But how did it happen? You must have spent a least a couple of class periods there with an injury like that!"

"I mean it. I'm fine. I haven't lost my eye or anything!" Dominique waved her off and smiled. "I accidentally stabbed myself with a pencil."

Wolfwood leaned over his desk to her face to get a better look. "Must have been a pretty sharp pencil!"

"Y-yeah, it was." Her tone made her sound like she didn't agree with it.

There was no more time for questions as the teacher walked in and closed the door. She immediately picked up the attendance list on her desk wasting no time calling out names.

"James Green," she called out. No answer.

Wolfwood raised his hand. "Uh, Mrs. Severem? He got a schedule change."

"Oh, ok. I guess that means we'll have an uneven number in here. Don't forget, you can call me Rem, ok?" She smiled as she got a nod from him and moved her black hair behind her shoulder before marking out the missing student.

As she continued the roll call, Vash whispered to his buddy, "Why did James change classes?"

Wolfwood looked at him as if he just asked how to spell his own name. "Why are you asking? He's nutty! Always wanting us to call him 'Chapel.'"

Meryl jumped in. "I heard he got into Theatre III."

Wolfwood blinked. "Huh? How?"

Milly decided to jump in as well. "He already took Theatre I and II."

"Yeah, he does everything Legato and Knives do," Said Dominique.

"Oh yeah. By the way Doni, could you give your brother a piece of my mind for what he did to Milly and I?"

"Mr. Wolfwood! You shouldn't ask her to do that!" It was sweet how he always defended her, but sometimes her overdid it.

"Believe me, I would if I could Nicholas, but somehow Legato always manages to turn it back onto me. It's not worth it."

"I agree with Doni," said Meryl. "You should just drop it." Wolfwood humphed and laid back in his seat again even further disgruntled. Then she added, "You can't just go around knocking people out because they decide to act stupid."

"Look who's talking."

The short girl's eyes flamed at him. "You know, you're not so smart yourself!"

"Vash Severem."

He raised up his hand. "Here!"

The group went quiet so they could hear their names.

"Dominique Sotero."

"Here."

Next came Meryl, then Milly. As Michael Valle's name was called out, Meryl looked over in his direction at the back of the room, and he flashed a smile just for her. She gave him a disgusted look.

After Wolfwood's name was called, Rem went to the black chalkboard to write today's assignment.

"You should use all that energy you use to threaten us on that hornfreak over there." Nick couldn't resist teasing Meryl a bit more.

"Watch it, or I'll start carrying out my threats." With that said, Meryl turned in her desk to focus on the board and away from him.

"And you get onto me about pushing her buttons," Commented Vash.

"Zip it Vash."

Rem put the chalk down and faced her class. "If you read ahead on your syllabus, you'll notice that the presidential debate group assignments are due in two and a half weeks from now, on the 28th."

Meryl muttered under her breath, "Dammit."

"I understand that some of you in Speech this semester are doing a similar assignment. Raise your hand if you are."

Meryl, Milly, and Dominique did so along with a few others in class.

"Good. That puts you at a slight advantage. You'll be able to use your argument to help. The difference here is you'll be able to act out instead of standing behind podiums restrained."

Murmurs of interest filled the room.

"Now, with that said, I'm asking you to be reasonable and not break out into a scene of senseless violence."

An 'AW MAN!' came from the back and others giggled.

"You have to have a reason for your actions, and the debate has to work into it. There's no need to get specific, and you can stretch the truth a bit. Think of a courtroom setting, Law and Order and such."

That perked Nick's interest. "This oughta be fun."

"Well, at least that'll cut my work in half." Meryl sighed in relief. Her plate was full enough as it is that week.

"And don't forget to go see The Crucible. It starts on the 30th at 7:00pm, and the last showing is on Oct 3 at 3:00pm. It only costs five dollars. Your paragraphs will be due the following Friday. DON'T forget to attach a program to it, or I won't grade it."

The shorthaired girl groaned. She forgot about that.

Milly put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry Meryl. I'll help ya out!"

"I have extra cheerleading practices that week, and a competition that weekend. I don't know if you can."

"Aren't Lina and Jessica in that play?" Vash asked Wolfwood.

"Yeah, and so is Alicia, Elizabeth, Layla, Ryan, Donovan, Randy, And Sean."

"Don't forget Knives," Dominique said.

"Oh...great." The last thing Nick wanted to do on a Friday night was watch that arrogant S. O. B. perform.

Rem called a student up for a demonstration of what NOT to do when speaking a dialogue in a play. All talk ceased as the first victim of the period stepped up.

----- _4:03p.m._

School ended on a high note as Vash and Wolfwood caused a laughing riot with a scene that as SUPPOSED to be from Romeo and Juliet. They were allowed to improvise the words in a duel between Romeo and Juliet's cousin, but they couldn't stop with the funny insults. Even Rem held a hand to her mouth attempting to keep her composure.

Vash talked to his aunt and teacher about dinner plans while Nick and the girls waited outside the classroom.

Meryl looked at the clock down the hall and decided it was a good time to go to her locker. "I'll be right back you guys." She walked off to the long wall of lockers located around the corner not far from the Theatre room.

After taking her flute case out of her bag and switching out books she needed for the weekend, Meryl lifted her load onto her shoulder and shut her locker door.

A face revealed itself where the door had been. Michael's face.

He leaned on his right arm propped up against the lockers, his uniform jacket undone, hair gelled up in its usual style. His dark eyes gave her a quick look over before he spoke. "Meryl, how's it goin'."

The shorthaired cheerleader wasn't impressed, more like annoyed, and she let Michael know it. "What do you want hornfreak?!"

He put his left hand on the other side of Meryl causing her to back into the wall of lockers as he hovered over her. "I told you before to call me Midvalley."

"I don't know. I'm kinda attached to hornfreak. It describes you perfectly. If you will excuse me, I have somewhere to go." Meryl made an attempt to duck out under his arm. Michael moved over and blocked her escape.

"Why the rush? You're always so busy. We never get a chance to talk." He kept blocking her each time she made another attempt to get away.

"Has it ever occurred to you that I might not WANT to talk to you?!"

Meryl might have a temper and threatened Vash and Wolfwood constantly, but she knew the limits of her own strength. They only reason why she got away with smacking or hitting them was because the boys let her.

She could try to punch or kick him where the sun don't shine. Michael was about as tall as Nick, so she would have easy access.

But she changed her mind. He might be anticipating it.

Michael smirked as if he could read her mind. "You like it, huh?"

Eww. That was even worse. He got the wrong idea when she looked down. Or he might be just messing with her head.

"Tch, don't flatter yourself." Meryl tried to find another way out of his arms.

Again he blocked. She closed her eyes in irritation ready to punch him with all her strength, not caring whether it would make much difference.

Michael moved closer. "I was wondering if you would like to go on a dri--"

"--How's it going Michael?"

Meryl opened her eyes.

It was Vash, arms crossed with his shoulder against the lockers staring straight at her captor. The smile he wore didn't look right. It made him look more pissed off than happy.

Michael let up on his hovering allowing an arm to drop freeing Meryl. She walked over to the blonde's side while both guys allowed the tension between them to grow.

"Vash... That was an impressive explosion this morning."

"Thanks..."

Obviously he wasn't up for small talk. "I was just asking Meryl if she would like to go out on a drive with me, since there's no game to worry about tonight."

Vash never took his eyes off of Michael as he straightened himself up. The sax player remained cool and confident. He knew Meryl wouldn't go. It was going to take time, but he believed that eventually she'll change her mind.

"Sorry Mr. Hornfreak, but I'm not interested." The shorthaired girl's smile was even more menacing than Vash's.

Michael shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal and moved over to walk past them. "Well, if you change your mind, you know my number." He winked at Meryl.

"It's 666 right?"

Even with his back to them, they could hear him softly laughing before he turned the corner.

"Up for a drive?"

Vash was back to his goofy self again. No trace of seriousness remained. It amazed Meryl every time he did that.

"What about Milly?" She asked.

"She decided to go with Wolfwood to the orphanage. He's trying to get a job there now."

"Do they actually let orphans work there before they turn 18?" Nick always wanted to become a priest or a missionary. Nearly half of the staff working at the Augusta schools and the church were orphans.

Vash repositioned his bag on his shoulder and lead the way to the stairwell. "He will be 18 in January. I bet they have to do some training, so it probably doesn't hurt to get an early start."

-----

They stopped by Vash's locker on the first floor before heading out to the parking lot. As they past by the elementary school playground, a few of the kids waved and ran over to the fence. Many of them were yelling Vash's name and begging him to come play with them.

Officer Maryanne and a high school girl with dark shoulder length hair were on playground duty along with three teachers. They watched in amusement as the children continuously pleaded with Vash even though he already said no.

"You promised!" Said one little boy with a water squirter in his hand.

"No I didn't Tonis. Besides, I can't come play with you guys everyday."

"When are you gonna show us your instrument then?" A small girl with a freaky-looking stuffed puppy hanging out of her backpack pointed to the clarinet case he carried. The rest of the children said 'Yeah!' almost in unison.

"You'll just have to wait until next week I guess, 'kay Sandy?" Vash smiled at them as he was bombarded with a bunch of 'Awwwws.'

Meryl shook her head trying not to laugh. He was very popular with the elementary kids, and they soaked up all the rumors and stories about the Humanoid Typhoon's 'adventures.' They were mostly about him destroying something by accident or attempting to break up fights in the halls, but to these children, he was something of a superhero. If you told them that he was related to Spiderman, Batman, or Superman they would believe it.

"OH MISS MARYANNE!!!" The blonde waved frantically at the policewoman like some lovesick idiot. "When will you go out with me?!!"

All the kids within hearing distance giggled. The cheerleader beside him smacked her head.

Maryanne felt a few of her own blonde hairs pop out of her bun in embarrassment. With a crooked smile, she lifted a hand to her mouth to respond. "Maybe when you turn eighteen!!"

"AWWW MAN!!! That's next summer!!!" Vash whined. He clung to the fence looking dejected and mumbled to himself, "So not fair!"

The officer grabbed the girl beside her by the shoulders and shoved her in front. "You can go out with Layla! I'm sure she'd be more than happy to! Right?"

Layla's purplish-blue eyes connected with Vash's hopeful blue-green ones as he remained attached to the metal fence. "Uhhh, yeah, I would be, but I'm already going out with Sean. Sorry!" She finished quickly and waved her hands in defense.

Vash dropped to his knees in mock drama and let his arms fall to his side. "Damn. Shot down three times in one day."

"Well, I guess that means your out then." Meryl grabbed his right ear with one hand and his clarinet case in the other. "C'mon! You still have to take me home!" She yanked him off the ground towards the parking lot.

_----- 4:26p.m._

Wolfwood stood quietly in front of Mother Brown's well-worn desk with Milly by his side. The sunlight shining through the ancient-looking windows streaked across the bare floor. Only the necessities filled the office, like every other room in the building. If it weren't for the friendly people who worked there, it would have been a cold and depressing place.

The nun went through his personal and academic records carefully before addressing him. "Nicholas, exactly what kind of job are you thinking about getting here?"

Nick stared at the young Mother's face thoughtfully for a moment. "I'm thinking maybe something in the orphanage. I also plan to become a certified priest."

Mother Brown's dark eyes shown as she smiled at him. In the few years she known this boy, she has seen his amazing ability to reach out to other children who just recently became orphaned or were outsiders with no friends.

But she sensed a darker side, a hidden rage against the world. Of course, Nick was quick to defend the helpless and himself, but perhaps it was his way of channeling that anger. Choosing to become a priest could help him stay on course and out of trouble. He would be able to continue using that energy to help instead of hurt.

"Well, you certainly are good with kids. Do you plan on becoming a Catholic priest?"

"Most likely. I was raised Catholic."

"Only because you were raised here. We do allow those of other faiths to work here." The nun gathered up Wolfwood's records and stuffed them into a folder. "Well, whatever faith you follow, you're welcome to work here."

Nick's mouth spread into a wide grin. "Thanks Mia!"

"And you need to start calling me Mother Brown if you plan on working here." She gave him a stern look while getting up out of her chair.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that Mi-Mo-...man, this is gonna be hard..." Wolfwood rubbed his neck.

Mia giggled and set the folder in a file drawer behind the desk.

"Um, Miss Brown?"

"Yes Milly?"

"Can I get a job here too?"

The nun turned around a little surprised. Milly already had her hands full with her countless cousins, nieces, and nephews. Even when she goes to college next fall, she'll still be helping out with them.

"You sure? I know that your family relies on you."

"I'm sure Mom would be okay with it. One less pair of hands won't make that much of a difference." The brunette's ever-present smile grew. Wolfwood wondered what on earth she was up to.

"Okay then. I'll have to take a look at your records as well. I can't hire either of you until you graduate high school. Both of you will also need to take First Aid and CPR classes within the next year."

-----

Both of them left the nun's office after receiving possible dates to take classes at the local hospital. They found their way downstairs to the back of the convent. There was a large abandoned lot of broken concrete with patches of grass and fences covering the backyards of old houses on the other side lining an alleyway.

Wolfwood laid back against the wall of the building and undid his school jacket while Milly sat down on the worn curb of the lot. Nick pulled out a hidden cigarette and lighter.

"Smoking's bad for you, you know."

He barely hesitated when she spoke and lit up anyway. "Yeah, well it's hard to stop once you start. And what were you trying to do in there? You rarely have time to yourself as it is. Even though you have like, what, ten older brothers and sisters, all married, they've got their work cut out for them!"

Milly bunched up her skirt underneath her legs and rested her chin on her knees. "I guess that just means some of my nieces and nephews will have to take on more responsibility."

"So, you're giving up taking care of them to take care of other people's kids."

"And kids who don't have anyone. Just like you. And I get paid for it too. We could use more money, so in a way, I'm helping my family and the orphanage."

Nick took a long drag and made an attempt at blowing smoke rings. They watched the half formed circles rise up into the cloudless sky for a minute. "You're always trying to find ways to help as many people as you can, just like Needle Noggin."

"You help a lot of people too."

"Not as many as you." The cigarette dropped onto the concrete, and he stamped it out with a sigh. "Do you want me to walk ya home?"

Milly jumped up. "You have to stay for dinner if you do!"

"Uh, I don't really feel like it. Can I pass this time?" Wolfwood searched his pockets for his shades.

"I don't think so! Mom won't take no for answer!" She hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and grabbed her mellowphone case. "C'mon!" Milly linked her free arm with Nick's just as he put his sunglasses on. "If we get there early enough, we can help with dinner!" She ran across the lot dragging him along.

_----- 4:45p.m._

"WOW!! Do it again!!"

Little Becky clapped her hands and jumped up and down when Neil finished showing his latest trick on his skateboard for the up-teenth time.

"Okay, one more time, then I have to go home."

Both kids were playing on the front yard and driveway while Becky's aunt Laura watched them from the side yard watering her garden. The woman's long black hair was swept up in a simple do covered with a sun hat even though many large trees of different kinds shaded much of the street and lawn. She had been out all afternoon taking care of the plants that grew around their old, white two-story house and large front porch. Her two married nephews, Will with his five-year-old and one-year-old daughters and Leo with his nine-month-old son, and her niece Meryl lived with her and her husband Daren. The house was big enough for all of them, but sometimes it felt crowded when they got together for meals.

Becky's toys littered the place, left in mid-play. Being the oldest of the three young children, she was a bit spoiled, and the more recent arrivals of Jasmine and Cameron hadn't shaken her view of being the princess of the family. In fact, she thought she came up with the idea of bringing them to the house.

She was having her fifth birthday party/sleepover with a couple of playmates from across the street later when the rest of the family came home.

Neil backed himself up on the sidewalk scribbled over with colorful chalk in preparation of his trick. Becky went in front of the huge tree trunk in the middle of the yard. Her dark brown curls, which matched her eyes, bounced on her shoulders as she plopped down, and she straightened her pink princess outfit. The boy shifted his hat while he put his skateboard in position.

A distant roar came from the end of the street, and the children looked in the direction of the sound.

Neil saw a red truck screech around the corner and gain speed as it came closer. Thinking it was going to jump the curb, he ran into the yard and grabbed Becky who got up for a better view.

Vash slammed the brakes in time before the truck left the street. Everything in the back continued to move until it hit something in its way. Poor Meryl's body attempted to keep moving as well but was restrained by her seatbelt. She yelped as it threw her back against her seat.

The blonde sat stiff in his seat and had a death-grip on the steering wheel while they took a moment to breath. Then he shifted into park, put on the emergency break, and took the keys out of the ignition.

"You okay?" Asked Vash, still breathing hard while trying to manage a grin.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Uh-huh-hehe, umm, the brake for some reason wouldn't work on that last turn, a-and somehow the accelerator got stuck for just a sec." He laughed nervously as the shorthaired girl glared.

All of her things flew out of her bag when she opened it to look for something and now littered the floor of her side of the truck.

"AND JUST HOW IN THE HELL DID YOU MANAGE THAT!!! IT DIDN'T ACCELERATE UNTIL YOU HIT THE BREAK!!!" Meryl threw off the seatbelt and grabbed the now scared driver by the collar. "YOU COULD'VE KILLED US!!!"

A knock on the driver-side window interrupted her screaming rampage.

"Um, you two okay?" Asked Neil, then he observed the scene inside. "Do you need a moment alone?"

Vash noticed a slight blush on Meryl's face before she let go of him and proceeded to clean up the mess on the floorboard. He freed himself from his seat and leapt out to walk around and help his passenger gather her things.

Becky ran up to him. "Can you do THAT again?!!" She giggled and took hold of his left arm to swing it.

Meryl rolled her eyes when she heard her niece squeal out her question. The most dangerous things always seemed to amuse her. The little girl laughed so hard she peed on herself when she saw her fall down the stairs once like some cartoon character. She ended up with a concussion and couldn't stand without getting a headache or really dizzy for the next couple of days.

"Sorry Bee, but I could only do that once."

"PLEEEEEEEEEASE!!!" Becky brought out her best puppy dog eyes.

"You heard him! He can't do that again!" Said Meryl in irritation. She had her door open, but half of her stuff hadn't been pick up yet. Vash ran over to help and Becky followed.

Laura had been startled when the truck suddenly stopped in front of her house, but she took her time putting her gardening tools and water hose away when she saw that no harm had been done. She now walked across the front yard to greet her niece.

"Vash! I'm fine! I don't need you're help!"

He grabbed her flute case and the rest of her books before Meryl could stop him. "Too bad! I'm helping anyway."

"Yeah, too bad!"

Meryl glared at the five-year-old who stuck her tongue out in return. "Want me to rip that out for ya?!" The little girl gasped, and the teenager smiled. "I can feed it to Mr. Filch's cat, so you can never get it back."

"AUNTY LAURA!!!" Becky ran off to find her great aunt.

"That wasn't very nice." Vash dumped the books into Meryl's bag. "It's her birthday."

"So!" She positioned her bag on her shoulder and snatched her flute case from him. "She thinks it's funny whenever I get hurt!" Meryl marched off around the front of the truck to the yard where her aunt was standing holding Becky in her arms.

The blonde sighed and shut the door to join them.

"Hey Vash?" Neil came up to him. "Do you have any time this weekend to help me build a ramp?"

"Maybe Sunday. We have a game tomorrow. Just come by, and I'll see what I can do."

"'Kay. Thanks man." The boy turned his attention to Laura. "Hey, Mrs. Cooper! I'm going home now!"

"Alright. Be careful now!"

"I will!" Neil got onto his skateboard and took off down the street.

Vash decided it was about time he headed home as well. "I guess I better get going too!"

Becky didn't like the idea and began to fuss. "NOOOO!!! What about my sleepover party?!!"

"I thought it was for girls only?"

"Cameron will be here, and he's a boy!"

Her aunt laughed. "Sweetie, he's a baby. He doesn't count."

"But Vash can still come, can he?!"

Meryl mouth a big 'NO' to the little girl, and she began to sulk. Her younger aunt immediately turned around and headed for the house.

Laura put the pouting Becky down and held her hand. "Take care now Vash! Don't drive too fast!"

"There's no need. I only live a few houses down. Happy Birthday Bee! I'll bring ya a surprise tomorrow 'kay?!"

She only nodded while she rubbed her eye with her small fist. Vash hopped back into is truck and took extra care driving off.

* * *

A/N: pant, pant Alright then, Kuroneko-sama says you MUST put another quarter in for another chapter. BEEEEEEEEEEP!!! 


	3. Tonight on 911

A/N: -pokes out head- Uuuuuh, Hi everyone! Boy, got twice as many reviews this time. Gee, now I felt like I let everyone down. :( In case you were wondering, I had some things I had to take care of and I couldn't continue my writing until I did. Probably a good thing 'cause I was stuck anyway. Having limited access to the net and getting sick also put me back a couple more weeks. I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday. For those of you who pitched in quarters, I'm sorry to say that the day after Christmas Kuroneko-sama took off with them. He just came back all wet and filthy but no quarters. There goes my laundry money.

Reviewer Responses!

coldchick: Glad you like! Sorry about not following your fic lately. Been in a rut. :( I hope you enjoy this chapter, and start lookin' for me in your mailbox soon! ;)

hope-is-4ever: A returning reader! Glad you don't mind the long chapters! I just hope you didn't mind waiting so long for an update. I promise to update MUCH quicker next time. If you liked how Vash went full protect mode on Midvalley, just wait until later, hehe.

Tongari010471: Another obsessive fan! Welcome! I too know almost the entire series by heart though I probably need a refresher course, since the last three months have been difficult for me. Long chapters seem to make more sense to me too. I tend to think of them as 'episodes' and yes, they ARE exhausting to write! I'm not gonna let that get me down. I WILL get this sucker done! Hope you enjoy!

Fool of a Rohirrim: Another returning reader! I hope you forgive my lateness and not abandon me.:( Wolfwood and Milly joining the orphanage just seem so natural I just had to do it. I'M NIFTY!!!:) Loved that comment. I hope Kuroneko-sama spent your quarter well.

narutogirl: -is bouncing in her chair- So happy to see you like!!! You know, back when I was thinking up this fic (long time ago I know, sorry) I asked myself over and over 'What would these characters do?' Luckily, I knew a bunch of people in high school who were like them. And I still do. Makes it so much easier. Please enjoy this horribly late chapter!

Rachael: I'm sorry that I didn't update soon enough, and I'd give you back your quarters but Kuroneko-sama took off with them. THAT DARN CAT!!! All well, better late than never. Enjoy!!! :)

Calumongal: HEY! Long time, no see! I'm so glad you're back! Happy to see that you're enjoying my new fic! Now, if only I could get the other one going again. -sigh- It'll happen eventually. You're very observant to catch those little references. There'll be plenty more to come I assure you ;) -pets Calumongal's Kuroneko- You know every time I try to say your name it comes out 'Chamomile'? O.o I always refer to you as 'The Chamomile Girl'. ; Anyways, enjoy!!!

Joshua Glass: -bites loonie- Yep! It's real! Good thing Kuroneko-sama didn't take off with it or I'd be in REAL trouble! It'll definitely last more than four chapters. ;)

Extra note: I used some French at the beginning of this chapter, so if you are fluent or have ANY idea how the French language works please forgive me if I misuse and/or misspell any of the words. I used online translations for this and checked back and forth over and over to get the most accurate translation. I don't know anybody who knows French, so it was the only thing I could do.

Enough of my apologies (I noticed I kept saying sorry). Now, go read while I interrogate Kuroneko-sama about the quarters. -NB-

* * *

Senior Augusta

By: Neptune Butterfly

Chapter 1: Tonight on 9/11

Saturday, September 11, 2004, 9:36a.m.

"Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?

Brother John, Brother John

Morning bells are ringing, Morning bells are ringing

Ding, ding, dong! Ding, ding, dong!"

Becky sat on top of a sleeping Meryl singing over and over one of her favorite songs.

Sunlight fell through the skylights of the attic bedroom in two giant beams. They were put in a few years ago when Meryl's brother Will and his wife Marie were expecting their first child, and she wanted a place where the baby wouldn't wake her. The room was a twelfth birthday present to Meryl. Now, with three couples and three young children taking up every other room in the house, this was the only way for a teenager to have any real privacy.

That didn't stop a certain five-year-old curly brunette from sneaking in when she wasn't supposed to.

Becky was the first in her sleeping party to wake up, and while she waited for her great aunt to cook breakfast, the birthday girl snuck up the stairs to the third floor, picked the dysfunctional lock, and tried to wake up her heavy sleeping aunt.

After several tries singing into Meryl's ear, the little girl screwed up her face in irritation. An idea came to her, and she began to sing.

_"Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques, _

Dormez vous? Dormez vous?

Sonnez les matines, Sonnez les matines,

Di, din, don! Di, din, don!"

After Becky repeated in French one time, she heard mumbling coming from the covers right under her.

"Juste une minute plus s'il vous plaît?"

The five-year-old giggled, realizing that her aunt was speaking French in her sleep. She decided to keep talking to see what would happen.

"Chronométrer à pour se lever!"

"Partir, part..."

"Lever!"

"No..."

"LEVER!!"

"NO..."

"LEVER!! LEVER!! LEVER!!"

"PARTIR!!!" Meryl's arms shot out from underneath the covers to grab hold of her niece and push her off.

The little brunette giggled uncontrollably and tried to tickle her. "TANTE Laura a dit se LEVER!!!

"NON ELLE NE PAS A VOUS PETIT MARMOT!!!" Covers and pillows were twisted and thrown around as the girls rolled around fighting on the bed. Suddenly, three other little girls jumped on and joined in.

"AUNT LAURA!!! MERYL JUST CALLED ME A LITTLE BRAT!!!"

"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN MY ROOM REBECCA!!! GET OUT!!!"

"Make me, MERYLIN!!!"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!!!"

A knock on the half-opened door caught the girls' attention. Meryl and Becky had each other in a headlock and fell off the bed before they could stop. Becky's friends laughed at them.

Laura couldn't help but smile while the announced that breakfast was almost ready. "Now everybody get your clothes on, so we can have some food." The girls on the bed jumped off and took off down the stairs to the bathroom. "Meryl?"

"Yes?" She struggled with her niece who wouldn't loosen her hold on her head.

"When do have to be at school for band practice?"

"Ummm...CUT IT OUT BECKY!!" Becky reluctantly let go. "About twelve."

"Okay, then you need to ready too." With that, Laura left the two to help the others.

Meryl turned to Becky, who had a huge grin on her face. "What are YOU smiling about?"

"TOLD you she said to get up!"

"No she didn't! Petit marmot..." Meryl mumbled as she got up.

"I'M NOT A LITTLE BRAT!!!"

"I'll have to ask Will to not teach you any more French."

Becky decided she had enough and walked to the door. "Daddy won't listen to you! Too bad!" She shut the door before her aunt's pillow reached it.

-----_1:16p.m._

It was another beautiful cloudless day. It wasn't even very hot, which was unusual for September. The only thing anyone had to worry about was wearing enough sunscreen.

Band practice took place in Conrad Stadium across the street from the school campus. Their Patriot Day show featured melodies from all five branches of the military, a special tribute to the veterans at the game. This game was the only one they had on a Saturday until the playoffs.

Meryl was relieved that Michael kept away from her the whole time. Most likely it was because of the nasty looks Wolfwood kept giving him. Vash would only smile threateningly whenever he got within ten feet of her. As for Milly, well, her extremely friendly nature was enough to keep him away.

They were now at the stadium's entrance with the rest of the band all in uniform, with the exception of the shorthaired flute player wearing her cheerleader outfit. Some kept their horns out and played random notes just for fun.

Five yellow school buses and a moving van drove through the parking lot to park along the sidewalk. Everyone with large instruments and those from the pit headed over to the van to load up while the rest looked for the bus they signed up for.

Most of the brass, woodwind, and percussion signed up with their own sections, but a few got stuck with the wrong section when too many signed up on one bus. Wolfwood found his on the list attached to the first bus door, but he did a double check when he realized that most of the names were that of flute and clarinet players.

"What the hell? This wasn't the bus I signed up on!"

Vash looked over his shoulder. "Well, what do ya know! You're with us!" He patted his friend's shoulder.

Wolfwood grumbled.

"What are you so unhappy about? Look who else got moved." The blonde pointed to Milly's name near the bottom of the list. How could he have missed that?

A sly grin crossed Nick's face. "Hmm, I guess this won't be such a bad trip after all!"

"I wouldn't get too cozy. Remember, the banshee's on this bus too."

He didn't have to remind him. As Vash ascended the steps of the bus, Wolfwood pointed his trumpet at his ear and played a high C.

"YAAAH!!!" He stumbled forward smacking his face on a step. A small group behind them cracked up. "WOLFWOOD!!!"

The poor blonde crawled up into the bus sticking a finger in his right ear. His friend snickered at his back.

"You're so mean!"

"Just keep moving you wuss."

They walked to the back of the bus and took the next to last seat on the right side. The bus quickly filled up, since nobody assigned to it needed to load their small instruments into the van. Milly finally came on followed by Meryl who was having trouble with the strap on her flute case.

When they reached the back where the boys were, Milly turned to her friend to see if she needed help.

"I almost got it Milly. Just get a seat."

"Okay." The tall brunette sat down across the isle from Vash and Wolfwood.

Nick saw his chance while the short girl was distracted and slid across to sit beside Milly.

Meryl pulled on the strap to check it. "Good. Fixed." She raised her head and was startled to see her seat taken up by scruffy dark hair and deep blue eyes. "Wolfwood! Why are you in my seat?!"

"Who said this was YOUR seat?"

"I asked Milly to get it for us!"

"No you didn't. You said to get A seat, not THIS seat." He wasn't about to give up a chance to sit with the big girl. Even if it meant making Vash sit with short stuff.

Vash started waving his hands frantically to get Wolfwood to stop provoking her. He ignored him, but Milly didn't. "What is it Mr. Vash? You want something?"

"U-uh-h, no not really!" He laughed nervously. "I just wanted to know if you're okay with her sitting over here."

"Oh sure, it's perfectly alright!" Milly smiled.

"MILLY!"

Wolfwood was smiling too, but it was more of a triumphant sneer. By then, the bus was filled to capacity, and there was no place left to sit. The driver and assistant director came onto the bus, so Meryl quickly sat down beside Vash glaring a warning at Nick to not try anything stupid.

The speakers screeched as the bus driver turned them on.

"Oops, sorry!" The older man turned the volume down and introduced himself. "Good afternoon. My name's Bob, and I will be your driver today."

A few of the students clapped, and one nutty kid near the front yelled, "BOB THE BUS DRIVER, YEAH!!! WOOOOOO!!!" Which earned quite a few laughs.

"Sounds like a toy!" Milly giggled.

"We oughta ask him if he knows Bob the Builder." Wolfwood added.

Bob waved for them to calm down and continued. "I just have a couple of things to mention. First of all, noise level should be kept at a reasonable decibel level. In other words, no yelling or loud organized singing,"

"AWWW MAN!"

The sound of Meryl's hand connecting with the back of Vash's head was followed by more laughter.

The driver tried to not join in, so he could finish. "Second of all, in case of an emergency, make sure you use the back exit or pull the red levers on the windows and push out. DO NOT pull the lever unless there is a REAL emergency. If you do, you'll find yourself hitchhiking home!"

"SURE THING BOB!" More laughing.

"All right Robert, knock it off." The assistant director's voice took over the speaker as the entire bus calmed down to a low murmur and began calling out roll.

"You know Cameron got some Bob the Builder toys for his first birthday last month." Said Meryl.

"Yeah, I remember. Needle Noggin got himself stuck in the tunnel of the little town play set!!!" Wolfwood doubled over to muffle his snickering.

"HEY! I was trying out a new dance move!! It was in the way!!" All three of his friends were now laughing into their hands.

"Mr. Severem, do you have something to say?"

"No! No! Absolutely 'muffin!" The short girl beside him covered his mouth to keep him from babbling on and further embarrassing himself.

-----_5:36p.m._

"Are there yet?!" Meryl slid down to the edge of her peeling leather seat.

It had been four hours since they left school, and the scenery outside slowly changed from green hills to bare rock. The heat was stifling, and there was no air conditioner around to cure it. It was so unfair that the football players got cool air and TV on their greyhounds while the band was stuck with grubby yellow dogs. But then, who said life was fair?

She wiped off the sweat from her forehead but felt something oily come off. Meryl looked at her hand. Dammit.

"Uch. I'll need to reapply my makeup. I hate putting on all this gunk. It makes me look like a clown!"

Nick lifted his shades. "At least you're not wearing a wool uniform! I just hope to God they have water when we get there. By the way, you might want to sit up. Your skirt's lookin' awfully short there."

The cheerleader looked down at her skirt and noticed that it was caught on a part of the seat that was coming off. Meryl went red while she straightened herself up. "You're such a perv."

"Hey! I'm not the one flashing the whole bus!"

Meryl's face looked like it was about to burst. "You don't have to say that so loud!"

Milly sat in a daze staring out into nothing. Her hair stuck to her face, which appeared to be drenched. "I hope they have a well or a pond or something we can dunk ourselves in."

"I'm sure they'll have something Angel. They're supposed to feed us too." Wolfwood gently patted her on the back.

The brunette groaned and let herself lean forward resting her head on the seat in front of her. Nick decided to check on Vash who was resting HIS head on top of his own seat nose pointed straight up into the air and drool coming out of his open mouth.

"Hey Needle Noggin! How can you sleep in this damn heat?!"

"That's SOOO gross..." Meryl poked her bus seat buddy in his side.

Vash's lanky figure twitched as he was startled out of his nap. "Huh...uh...Are we there yet?" He asked sleepily.

Wolfwood was watching him behind his sunglasses with a laughing smile while the short girl was giving him a disgusted look.

"What?"

"You were drooling." Said Meryl.

Vash wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Oh, sorry."

"EWWW, VASH!!"

"What?!! Want me to wipe it on you?!!"

"Yuck, no!!! Keep it to yourself!!--"

Nick looked out the window over Milly's back. "--Hey guys, we're here--AHH!!"

"Oops, sorry!" Milly accidentally smooshed his head against the seat when she quickly sat up.

-----

They got off their buses and were led into the school located beside the stadium. Boxes of sub sandwiches were waiting for them in the gym. The air inside the large room felt ice-cold compared to the suffocating heat outside. After getting their dinner, the band spread out to find floor space to lay down on. Groans of relief echoed through the air.

Vash and his quartet sat against the wall close to one of the gym entrances and laid their hat buckets and instruments down in a row to keep them from getting stepped on. Meryl was the only one who kept hers in its case, since she only needed it for halftime. None of them bothered to get up and throw away their trash but instead laid in a circle, hands behind their heads, eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"Did anyone see the banner hanging in the stadium?" Nick asked after a few of silence.

Milly turned her head to face him. "I did. That must've taken a lot of time to make!"

"Yeah, it must have. I can't believe it's been three years already."

Now Meryl turned her head. "What are you talking about?"

Wolfwood faced her questioning face. "It's 9-ll! What did you think I was talking about?!"

"Sorry! It's just that I never bothered paying much attention to anything related to it after it happened."

"Well, where do you think Patriot Day came from?"

"I always thought of today as Becky's birthday and nothing more! I know it happened but it's just too depressing to think about."

"Over 3,000 people died on that day. That's pretty hard to ignore!"

"I'm not heartless! I just don't think it's a good idea to keep dwelling on something like that! The world can't stop turning for anything you know!"

Milly felt she had to say something before the argument got out of hand. "Meryl's right. It isn't healthy. A lot of times the only thing you can do is just keep living your life. I'm sure that's what those people would've wanted."

Wolfwood gave out a heavy sigh and returned his gaze to the ceiling. "Yeah, you're probably right Big Girl."

Vash never looked their way. He stared up at the light fixtures pretending not to listen. He wished he could forget what happened on that day, but he was there. The whole scene took place in front of his own eyes. Vash was thankful at least that his friends didn't witness it with him. It was bad enough that his own family had been broken apart for being at the right place at the wrong time.

"Hey Vash?"

Wolfwood's voice filtered through his thoughts. "Hm?"

"How's Tessla doing nowadays?"

"Oh, she's okay. She called me yesterday and told me she's able to move on her own now."

"That's wonderful!" Exclaimed Milly.

"So she's still living with Mary and Rowan in New York huh?" Meryl asked.

"Mhm." He wasn't really in the mood to talk about it.

Meryl was hesitant to give him her next question, but curiosity eventually won over. "Will... Tessla be able to come visit during the holidays?"

Wolfwood and Milly gave their undivided attention to the blonde. They too were curious about what the answer will be.

A few seconds passed before their friend responded. "I'm not sure. I don't know if it'll be okay for her to travel or not. We'll just have to wait and see."

"Well," Meryl got up and fixed her skirt, "I guess I'll head for the bathroom." She took a small bag that carried her make up from her case. "Vash, don't forget my flute okay?"

Most of the room jumped as the head drum major blew his whistle just then announcing that the break was over. The whole band once again groaned like wooden boards in an old house.

"Someone needs to tell Sean not to blow that damn thing so loud!" Wolfwood wiggled a finger in the ear that got full blast of it. "C'mon you guys, lets go."

-----_7:48p.m._

The football flew through the air at kickoff at 6:30p.m. Both bands had played their school's alma maters just minutes before, right after the singing of the Star Spangled Banner. The initial excitement and anticipation died down after only two minutes into the game. Only the cheerleaders retained their enthusiasm, since it was after all their job to keep yelling the same cheers over and over at the top of their lungs. The first two quarters were rarely interesting and hardly worth watching.

The Avengers kept scoring with almost no contest from the Archangels. Their band just sat there in disgust as the rival band moved their instruments from side to side playing their fight song after every touchdown.

Wolfwood pulled out his miniature magnetic checkerboard after the first two scores and played with his buddy Lee a saxophone player with white-blonde hair who happened to sit in front of him three stands down. They were separated only by the drum section, or the battery, as they're commonly known.

Lee's bright blue eyes and hair often reminded Nick of Knives. But he had a much friendlier smile, and his hair was longer with a part down the middle. Lee was also part of a four-person band with the drum major Sean as its lead singer and was very outgoing.

Brian, another buddy who played the drums, came over to watch them. He too was part of Sean's band. He had a large build, dark brown eyes, and short dark curly hair to match. Brain wasn't shy, but he was very observant and didn't talk unless he had something important to say.

No one bothered to stop them, since the band only bothered to play a random song every ten minutes or so without much spirit just to break the monotony.

Milly retreated into one of her Harry Potter books and didn't even notice when the others got up to play. Vash on the other hand had his eye on the game whooping and shouting along with the rest of the clarinet section and the few others who refused to sit and sulk.

Five minutes before halftime the Archangels had the ball in their possession. But each time they thought they made a touchdown, a flag would go up. The entire visiting side roared with boos, hisses, and insults.

By the third flag the Archangel Band was on its feet stomping the steel stands. One huge guy from the drum section jumped on his stand in frustration knocking Wolfwood's checkerboard off. Lee caught it in his hand in time and quickly closed it before the checker pieces could escape.

"Looks like the games over," said Lee while handing the little case over to Nick.

"Depends on which game you're talkin' about." He took the case threw it into his hat bucket. "Damn, and I was finally winning too."

"I'm not so sure." Wolfwood jumped. It was Milly. "He had a few good moves left."

"Oh c'mon Angel, you didn't have to tell me that! Besides, he might not have known it!"

"Actually..." Lee started to say, "I was about to jump four of your guys."

Wolfwood grumbled, but Milly wouldn't have it. "Now, now! Nobody likes a sore loser!"

"Who said I lost?!!" Nick exclaimed.

The head drum major's voice echoed through the megaphone announcing it was time to file out to the field in full uniform. Everyone buttoned up their jacket and grabbed their hat and plum out of their bucket.

"Battery will come down first, then low brass to high brass, and then woodwinds," Sean shouted as a reminder after he already handed the megaphone back to the band director.

Lee hopped down to his section, and Brian put on his bass drum and headed down the steps. The tubas followed making sure to not hit anyone with their horns then the baritones and mellowphones.

Wolfwood realized something after Milly's section had already passed by and the trombones were now heading for the field. He quickly finished buttoning up and called out, "HEY BIG GIRL!!!"

The brunette turned around at the metal gate that led to the field.

"MAKE SURE YOU DON'T TAKE SUCH BIG STEPS ON THAT BACKWARD SET, OK?!!!"

Milly gave one of her biggest grins so that he could see and waved an arm in the air. "DON'T WORRY MR. WOLFWOOD!!! I'LL BE CAREFUL!!!

"Oh boy..." Nick sighed. He adjusted his hat before stepping out into the isle and began fingering notes on his trumpet.

Meryl came up to the woodwind section after discarding her pom poms near the pile of cheerleader bags by the stands. She tiptoed around buckets and cases looking for Vash. She found him struggling with the buttons on his jacket.

The tall blonde smiled nervously when he noticed the short cheerleader watching him. "Umm...a little help please?"

Meryl tsked and yanked him up onto the steel stand to help with the snaps under his left sleeve. "Why didn't you ask someone before I got over here?!!"

"Because only you have the magic touch--OUCH!!!"

She jabbed him with the last snap. "There!! If you really are having that much trouble keeping them from coming undone, you should get a different jacket."

"But there aren't any left with long enough sleeves!!"

"Then use a safety pin idiot!! So where's my flute?"

"Under there." Vash pointed to a long case under his seat.

Meryl bent down and took the pieces of her flute out of the case while Vash looked around for his hat. The saxophones were now leaving the stands and clarinets would go next. Vash found his hat behind him and bent over to pick it up.

He came back up hat in hand only to lose it again when something poked him hard in the back. "IEEE!!!" The blonde almost lost his balance, but Meryl caught his arm.

It turned out it was her flute that startled him. "I'm so sorry!! I--WATCH OUT NICK!!" She gasped.

The whole band had their eyes on Wolfwood who didn't see it coming until it was too late. The hat bounced off of his head and landed in the percussion section. Most of the band ooooed and gasped and a few could help but burst out laughing.

"SORRY WOLFWOOD!!!" Vash had to yell out over the new wave of boos hitting the stands.

Lee was one of the few laughing his guts out. "NICE SHOT VASH!!!"

Nick pulled his own hat off and rubbed his head. "DAMMIT NEEDLE NOGGIN--!!!"

"--Here you go."

He turned around and saw Eddie from the pit holding Vash's hat out to him.

Eddie was the fourth member of Sean's playing piano, soundboard and percussion and was also Wolfwood's smoking buddy. He wore thick black glasses with rectangular frames over his brown eyes, and his hair was a black gelled mess. Vash always teased him that if the band director ever made the pit wear hats his would never stay on because his head was too slippery.

Eddie gave a wink to his friend, and Wolfwood received the hat with an evil smirk on his face. "Thanks man."

Nick looked up into the stands and focused on a spiky head being pushed into the isle by Meryl. He lifted the hat into the air with his right arm and pulled back. Ready. Aim. FIRE.

"GYAH!!!"

BULLSEYE!!!

Vash's head flopped backward like a rag doll's as he fell into the people behind him.

-----_8:02p.m._

One minute to go on the clock and the Archangels were using up their second timeout. The band was lined up on both sides of the field waiting impatiently for halftime. Vash and a few other clarinets were congregating behind the sideline benches near the 50-yard line on the home side while Wolfwood kept a safe distance from him. The blonde didn't look too happy after he gave him back his hat.

Meanwhile the girls were waiting on the visitor's side searching the crowd for familiar faces.

Meryl was looking for one face in particular. "I don't see Doni anywhere."

"Well, it is a big crowd Meryl. It'll be hard to find just one person," Said Milly.

"But she told me which section she'd be sitting in, and that she'd come down to see me before halftime!" Her tone of voice sounded frustrated and worried at the same time.

"And did she?"

"No, she didn't. Her boyfriend Ray was supposed to be here too, and I don't see him either."

"Maybe they got lost...or stuck in traffic or something," The brunette suggested. "It's an awfully long drive here."

Meryl's eyes were still fixed on the crowd. "I would probably buy that if she hadn't done this several times already. Before this summer she never missed a single game or competition I was in without a good explanation. I mean, we haven't been able to hang out or see a movie for the past four months! Haven't you noticed?"

"Yes, but..." Milly paused. She wasn't as close to Dominique as Meryl was and having no valid explanation to ease her friend's fears made her feel a bit helpless. "Well...did...you ever ask her why? She could...be just really busy."

"With what? She doesn't have a job! And anything she was ever involved with at school never took up so much time! I guess I'll have to ask Ray about it. Problem is, I rarely see him."

The visitor's side roared in approval as the Archangels finally scored without any penalties. Both girls turned around to see what they missed.

The announcer in the press box proudly yelled out the name of the maker of the touchdown. "TOUCHDOOOOOOOWWWWWN BY NUMBER 47 BRANDON 'DYNAMITE' NELSOOOOOOON!!!"

Home side was silent. The competition just got tougher.

Their was no time left on the clock, so the players headed to their locker rooms making sure they didn't run over any poor unsuspecting band members desperately looking for their spots.

Nelson made a wide path around them to avoid any accidents, but didn't notice the short cheerleader on the end frantically waving at him. "IT'S ABOUT TIME B. D. N.!!!"

The football player turned his head then his whole body and jogged backwards. "Hey!! It wasn't my fault!! Blame it on Grey 'Nine Lives' over there!! He kept makin' all those suicide dives when he should've gone aro--!!" His buddy cut him off before he could finish and dragged him away.

"Oh, you're always blaming him for your problems!!" Meryl joked. Brandon waved behind him as Grey draped his harm over his shoulders laughing at Meryl's comment.

The band stepped up to the edge of the field in neat lines, their rivals hanging back near the stands waiting for their turn. Sean and the other two drum majors marched in uniform on the fifty to the center and saluted the press box on the home side. A long whistle signaled the battery for a drum tap followed by four short tweets.

As the band stepped onto the field in time with the drum the announcer introduced them. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLEASE REMAIN IN YOUR SEATS FOR OUR HALFTIME MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT BY THE AUGUSTA SENIOR HIGH MARCHING BAND. IN CELEBRATION OF PATRIOT DAY, TONIGHT'S SHOW CONSISTS OF 'AMERICA,' 'THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER,' 'STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER,' AND 'ARMED FORCES MEDLEY' IN HONOR OF THOSE WHO SERVED AND DIED FOR OUR COUNTRY. NOW, SIT BACK AND ENJOY AS WE PROUDLY PRESENT AUGUSTA HIGH'S ANGEL ARM BAND!!!

For once, the announcer managed to finish before Sean gave the horns up and counted off. The whole stadium quickly applauded and settled down to watch.

The show started off with 'America'; slow and moving. Many people stood up and took their hats of if they were wearing one. Army veterans were spotted here and there amongst the crowd wearing their uniforms.

The sets were simple and easy to remember, since the show was only for tonight, and there was a lot of standing in place. Most of the woodwinds remained at the back, which was the visitor's side, because they weren't needed as much in the first half of the show. During 'Stars and Stripes' they would have to march forward a couple of sets, stand for a while, then take a few sets to the back again. The 'Medley' would shuffle the woodwinds and brass a couple more times while the drumline remained close to the center of the field shifting only from side to side.

Wolfwood couldn't stop thinking about the final shuffle. And about Milly.

To fit the pattern the band director had in mind some of the mellowphones and baritones would have to move back and a few of the saxes would have to move forward, and it's the set with the biggest steps for those moving back field. Since they had to keep the top part of their bodies and horns pointed at the press box, it made judging the step size a lot harder.

Tall people wouldn't have a hard time with larger steps, but they could overextend and overtake the person behind them if they're not careful. Poor Milly couldn't get the last set right. She was one of the tallest girls in the band. Every time they ever had to take big steps back she'd fall apart.

Their final try in practice earlier this morning was the first time she could do it without hurting anyone. Milly was so proud of her accomplishment that she had total confidence she'd nail it during the performance. That was exactly what Wolfwood was worried about.

Even more people got up for 'Star Spangled Banner.' Even the rival band stood at attention and took their hats off. The flag corps stood still while the American colors fluttered gently off their poles. Both the woodwinds and brass formed multiple arcs across the field and played the entire song in place.

At the start of 'Stars and Stripes' the flags twirled around to the opening then the rest of the band prepared itself for the first shuffle.

Meryl looked around for Lee who was the head of her line during the switch. She did her best to ignore the sax player to her right, the perverted menace known as Midvalley. Thankfully, this would be the only time she would be within his line of sight.

Now at the front, the woodwinds halted and gave their full attention to the music.

Vash fingered the well-practiced notes on his clarinet but kept his attention on the pretty tall redhead on the sidelines standing in front of him. The girl stood in line at attention with the rest of the Augusta drill team. She returned his attention with a beautiful smile and small wave of her gloved hand. 'Man, such pretty green eyes,' thought Vash.

Meryl caught the girl's wave and rolled her own eyes. 'He never gives up.'

Unfortunately she also caught Michael waving at HER.

After he saw that he had the short girl's attention he took his mouth off his mouthpiece. "Make sure you don't trip alright?" He winked then went back to playing.

Meryl blinked. What was he trying to do? It didn't sound like he was up to something, but he didn't sound very concerned either.

"Just worry about yourself hornfreak."

He didn't bother to answer.

It was almost time to move again, and Lee could tell that Vash was going to miss it if he didn't bring his brain back to reality.

"Hey." Lee motioned the clarinet behind the blonde to tap him.

The clarinet was almost a second too late, but he caught the back of Vash's jacket in time. It was enough to snap him out of it.

Vash stumbled a bit, a little put out. The redhead mouthed a goodbye, and the giggling girl beside her began asking questions. 'Well, guess I'll just have to catch her later.'

The stadium rang with hearty applause when 'Stars and Stripes' ended without incident, but Meryl couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. She looked over to Milly, standing still as a statue. Meryl didn't think Michael would actually pull anything on her friend. Confidence was practically radiating off of her.

Meryl pushed it to the back of her mind. 'If she does mess up, it won't be any worse than what it has been.'

Sean stood on his platform perfectly still waiting for the announcer. "TO FINISH THEIR PERFORMANCE THIS EVENING, THE ANGEL ARM BAND WILL PLAY THE 'ARMED FORCES MEDLEY' WHICH FEATURES THE MELODIES FROM ALL FIVE BRANCHES OF THE MILITARY: ARMY, NAVY, COAST GUARD, AIR FORCE, AND THE MARINES. WE ASK THAT THE VETERANS STAND WHEN THEY HEAR THE MELODY FOR THEIR BRANCH PLAYED. AND NOW, A MOMENT OF SILENCE."

For almost a minute the whole stadium seemed dead. Only the flags stirred in the evening breeze while the sun set colored the sky with a rainbow. The distant hum of cars on a nearby highway and a whistling train was all that could be heard.

Finally, the band director gave Sean the go ahead, and he lifted his arms to start the count off.

The horns went up, and the 'Medley' began.

Army came first after the opening, and the announcer called it out so everyone would know. Veterans from the Army rose and were applauded.

At the beginning each melody the band would move one set then stand until it was time for the next melody. One of the shuffles was supposed to happen during the third melody, then the last one during the closing.

Milly didn't have far to go on the first one, so she would be even with some of the saxophone players. All she could think about at this point was how she was going to make it on the final set.

Next came the Navy. More veterans stood up and were applauded.

Meryl kept her eyes on the back of Milly's head. Her friend would soon be out of her sight, and she wouldn't be able to see if Milly made it. 'Out of sight, out of mind. Out of sight, out of mind.'

The first shuffle came when they played the Coast Guard melody.

Milly almost missed the step off and tried to overcompensate, but the girl behind her reached out and whispered, "Slow down Milly!"

"Right, right..." And the brunette immediately took smaller steps. Her mellowphone shook a little from the adjustment making her stumble through the rest of the melody.

Veterans of the Air Force had their turn next, and most of the woodwinds moved either to the left or the right making straight lines across the front.

Milly ended up near the back of the next to last line with another mellowphone player behind her. The poor girl had the misfortune of being trampled by Milly several times during practice, and the guy in front got plenty of bumps from running into her horn.

Keeping all this in mind, she prepared herself for the final move. None of the lines would be moving during the last melody, just the arcs of brass in the back turning into lines of their own. 'All I have to do is stay in line,' Milly thought looking to her left.

The Marines came last, and it had the largest group of veterans stand. It wasn't much of a surprise because Augusta was located near one of their bases.

All veterans were asked to stand by the announcer when the last melody finished. The drill team straighten themselves up ready to march.

It was time for the last shuffle.

'Not too big now.' Milly lifted her left foot back to step off.

She took another step, then another, then another, then another.

She was staying with the line.

'Almost there.' Nothing left to play but the long note to the end.

"WAAOOAAAH!!!"

'Weird, I didn't run into hEEIIER!!!' "YIEEE!!" Milly tripped over the girl behind her and tumbled backwards. The clarinet guy in front of her fell back on top of the girls, and the rest of the line proceeded to do the same.

Milly's horn had flipped out of her hand towards the sax player to her left who got out of the way but forgot to warn the guy in front of him. Both lost their balance creating another domino effect.

The screaming momentarily distracted people on either side of the two lines. The back halves of their lines halted, but their front halves didn't notice. Meryl and Vash never realized what happened until it was too late.

Some marchers fell out of their lines and collided with some of the color guard located in between. A couple of flagpoles were knocked out of their hands and landed in the path of other lines moving back.

Meanwhile, the brass were moving their newly formed lines to the front. A short female trumpet player at the head of Wolfwood's line suddenly halted when she saw the horn flying in the air in front of her. Those who were behind her couldn't stop in time, and the whole line fell forward almost into a pile.

One trombone player from their line tripped over his own feet attempting to avoid the pile and fell into the line to the left. He knocked one girl over to the next line causing both of those lines to go down.

More people from other lines to their left turned their heads to the source of the yelling wondering if someone was seriously hurt only to end up on the ground hurt themselves.

From the stands came ooohs and gasps as the crowd watched the entire formation collapse from left to right. The other band was too shocked to say anything or even move.

By the end, the only ones that remained standing were the battery, half of the color guard outside the form, and a few lucky saxes near the middle.

* * *

A/N: Don't know for sure if this is the best place to stop, but I just couldn't decide what should happen afterwards. If you want to see what caused the girl to fall you'll just have to tune in next time. This can actually happen, in fact, it DID happen recently to my former high school band, but the reason was because the field was wet. I've never seen it happen to an entire band before, but I know what it's like to be part of the domino effect. It hurts. The Patriot Day show in this chapter is based off of what we did on 9/11 only none of us fell flat on our faces!

This next year will be my last year in band, and I'm hoping to graduate from college next spring (2006). I feel really sad, and at the same time relieved. My kiddy sister will be graduating from high school at the same time. By the way Sis, I hope you're feelin' better! Both of us got sick, and she got the worst of it. :(

P.S. Kuroneko-sama has just informed me that he donated your quarters to the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami and has been helping out with relief. Kitty has such a big heart! -NB-


End file.
